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HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED, 



BY CALEB KIMBALL, 

AUTHOR OF ' A CHILD ASSISTED IPC GIVING THE HEART TO GOD. 5 



But they rebelled, and vexed his Holy Spirit ; therefore he watf 
turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them. — Is. Ixiii. 10. 







BOSTON : 

PRESS OF T. R. MARVIN, U CONGRESS ST. 

FOR SALE BY C. C. DEAN, 
No. 13 Cornhill. 

1845. 



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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1846, 

By T. R. MARVIN, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 






PREFACE 



These pages are offered to the pub- 
lic, in the hope that the remarks and 
facts which they contain, may induce 
the unconverted to cherish the influ- 
ence of the divine Spirit, and may 
arouse some, who have resisted his 
operations, to consider their ways, be- 
fore they are summoned to appear in 
the presence of their final Judge. The 
subject certainly is one of great practi- 



PREFACE. 



cal importance, and deserves from all 
classes the most serious and prayerful 
attention. The Holy Spirit is often 
grieved by the impenitent for the want 
of correct impressions as to the nature 
and design of his gracious work. If 
the considerations herein presented are 
instrumental of leading one sinner so 
to receive the Holy Spirit as to become 
the subject of his renewing grace, the 
writer will feel that his labor has not 
been lost, and the reader surely will 
have sufficient occasion for devout 
thanksgiving and praise. 

Although the cases in the eighth 
and eleventh chapters strongly resem- 
ble each other, it seemed proper not- 
withstanding to treat them separately, 
as the difference, at least in their ex- 



PREFACE, 



ternal features, would lead a discrimi- 
nating pastor to vary somewhat his 
method of treatment, in order to ex- 
pect speedily the happiest results. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

The Holy Spirit resisted by hatred and opposition to 
Divine truth, 9 

CHAPTER II. 

The Holy Spirit resisted by cavilling at Divine truth, 17 

CHAPTER III. 

The Holy Spirit resisted by ascribing his gracious 
operations to the influence of fanaticism, ... 23 

CHAPTER IV. 

The Holy Spirit resisted by excessive worldliness, . 28 

CHAPTER V. 

The Holy Spirit resisted by the use of intoxicating 
liquors as common drinks, 84 

CHAPTER VI. 

The Holy Spirit resisted by vain amusements and 
worldly pleasure, 47 

CHAPTER VII. 

The Holy Spirit resisted by concealing conviction, . 59 



CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The Holy Spirit resisted by deferring repentance, . 63 

CHAPTER IX. 

The Holy Spirit resisted by yielding to the entice- 
ments of ungodly associates, ........ 69 

CHAPTER X. 

The Holy Spirit resisted by a refusal on the part of 
awakened sinners to attend meetings of religious 
inquiry, 74 

CHAPTER XI. 

The Holy Spirit resisted by awakened sinners, when 
they are convinced that immediate submission to 
God is their indispensable duty, but still neglect 
to do it, 79 

CHAPTER XII. 

Concluding Remarks, 84 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED BY HATRED AND 
OPPOSITION TO DIVINE TRUTH. 

Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost. — Acts vii. 51. 

The faithful exhibition of divine truth 
awakens the opposition of the natural heart. 
An affecting illustration of this may be 
seen in the persecutors of Stephen, while 
they listened to the strains of inspired 
eloquence poured from the lips of that holy 
man. He spake with an elevation of soul, 
peculiar to one, who stood upon the verge 
of a brighter hemisphere, and had caught a 
glimpse of the loftier scenes of another 
world. In the light of a purer day, he sur- 
veyed the unhappy men before him, who 
2 



10 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

thirsted for his blood, and were rapidly fit- 
ting for unraingled tribulation. The scene 
was deeply affecting. His compassions 
were moved, his benevolence kindled ; his 
heart glowed with celestial ardor for their 
salvation. In prospect of approaching 
death he addressed them with the energy 
and directness of a man of God. The 
word came with power. It was accom- 
panied by the Holy Ghost. It discovered 
to them the enormity of transgression. It 
brought into open day the deeds of dark- 
ness concealed under the veil of a most 
specious exterior. It revived afresh in 
their memories the iniquities of their fath- 
ers, which by their conduct they approved, 
and spread out before them their own 
characters, stained with the blood of the 
saints. The picture was true, but they 
would not acknowledge it. They rejected 
the light ; they resisted the Spirit ; they 
were filled with indignation at a view of 
their own characters, and added to all their 
other crimes, the sin of stoning this bold, 
devout and faithful servant of the Lord of 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 11 

glory. As the work of the Holy Spirit in 
the heart is indispensable to salvation, I de- 
sign, dear reader, in this little book, to 
point out some of the ways in which sin- 
ners resist his gracious operations, and to 
show the fatal consequences of losing the 
converting power of this divine and friend- 
ly agent. 

In pursuance of this object then, I re- 
mark, that sinners resist the Holy Ghost, 
when they hate and oppose the plain 
declarations of divine truth. The Spirit of 
God is the grand agent in regeneration. 
He employs truth to bring the mind to 
submit to Christ. When this truth is hated 
and opposed, the Spirit is opposed, and the 
very means, by which the soul is to be 
renewed and saved, are rejected. The 
Bible is the production of the Holy Spirit, 
for, "holy men of God spake as they were 
moved by the Holy Ghost." All its truths 
therefore, perfectly correspond with the 
mind of the Spirit. When these truths are 
opposed, the Spirit is opposed, and the 
great instrumentality, which he employs to 



12 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

renovate the heart, is resisted. Those, 
who hate and oppose the gospel, when 
faithfully and powerfully preached, resist 
the Holy Ghost, for he is pleased to employ 
such exhibitions of his truth to awaken the 
conscience and save the soul. " It hath 
pleased God by the foolishness of preaching 
to save them that believe."' It is the clear, 
pointed, faithful, pungent appeals of divine 
truth to the heart, which become mighty 
through God to the pulling down of the 
strong holds of sin. Such efforts he de- 
lights to bless. They are gratifying to the 
feelings of his benevolent heart. They 
are emphatically the sword of the Spirit. 
If sinners are converted at all, it will ordi- 
narily be, where the gospel is preached in 
its greatest purity and power. There will 
be seen the clearest manifestations of the 
divine Spirit; there will be witnessed the 
most affecting exhibitions of infinite power ; 
there will be felt the most melting and sub- 
duing operations of unsearchable love. 
Such a place is always solemn ; it is the 
house of God, the gate of heaven to all 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 13 

who believe and obey the word. But a far 
different effect is produced upon those, who 
resist the truth. To them the word of 
eternal life becomes a savor of death unto 
death. Such was the effect of Stephen's 
preaching upon his unhappy auditors. It 
awakened the latent opposition of their 
carnal minds. They kindled into wrath at 
those affecting delineations of their guilty 
conduct. They openly withstood the Spir- 
it of grace, and lost his converting and 
saving power. Said that holy man, " Ye 
stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and 
ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost ; 
as your fathers did, so do ye." They op- 
posed the truth, they quenched the Spirit, 
they hardened their hearts, and beyond a 
doubt, many of them sealed their final 
doom. In view of such amazing conse- 
quences, let us all beware how we treat the 
gospel. Hatred and opposition, contempt 
and scoffing grieve the Holy Ghost, and if 
that divine agent takes his final departure 
from a sinner, that sinner is ruined for a 
whole eternity. He sinks into a state of stu- 
2* 



14 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

pidity, or assumes an attitude of resistance, 
which no power of argument, no array of 
eloquence or appeals of divine truth are able 
to overcome. 

A young man, belonging to a respectable 
family, early began to hate and oppose the 
truths of evangelical religion. He soon 
embraced fundamental errors, became ex- 
ceedingly hardened in sin, resisted and 
grieved the Holy Ghost, and was apparent- 
ly left by that heavenly agent, to fill up 
the measure of his iniquities. While mul- 
titudes around him were awakened by the 
Spirit, and melted into contrition and love, 
he continued to resist the truth, and in 
hardness of heart to fight against God. At 
length, by acts of uncommon wickedness, 
he was deprived of his reason, and died a 
most miserable and loathsome object of un- 
restrained depravity in the alms-house. 

Another young man early began to cher- 
ish opposition to the truths of revealed 
religion. He soon became an abandoned 
sinner, hushed the voice of conscience, 
opposed and quenched the influence of the 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 15 

Spirit, and to all human appearance was 
left by him in blindness of mind to work 
out his destruction. Overtaken in crime 
by the hand of justice, he was proved guil- 
ty of murder, and finished his short but 
dreadful career in depravity, a most hard- 
ened wretch, upon the gallows. 

Voltaire, having resisted and grieved the 
Holy Spirit by his violent opposition to re- 
vealed religion, said to his attending physi- 
cian, " If you will preserve my life six 
months, I will give you half my fortune." 
His physician replied, " you cannot live six 
weeks." " Then," exclaimed he in des- 
pair, "I shall go to the devil." 

Paine, the infidel, endowed by his Crea- 
tor with a penetrating intellect, grieved the 
Holy Spirit by his bitter opposition to 
divine truth, and was left by him to follow 
the perverse inclinations of a carnal mind. 
Consumed by intemperance and licentious- 
ness, with bitter oaths and blasphemy upon 
his lips, he died in the frightful horrors of 
unmitigated despair. 

If further illustrations of this point were 



16 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

needed, we might look into those assem- 
blies, where evangelical truth is hated and 
opposed. Wealth and fashion, elegance 
and taste may be found in them, but the 
Spirit of God in his enlightening and con- 
verting power is not there. While congre- 
gations, close by their side, embracing 
evangelical doctrines, are blest with the 
most glorious revivals of religion, and 
scores and hundreds, bowing sweetly to the 
authority of Jesus, are filled with love and 
joy unspeakable, they are left to slumber 
on in stupidity and unbelief. The anxious 
inquirer for the way of life and the weep- 
ing penitent are not there. The Holy 
Spirit, grieved by their opposition to his 
truth, leaves them in deep spiritual slumber 
to pass on unpardoned to the overwhelm- 
ming scenes of judgment and eternity. 
These are solemn facts, and in view of 
them, dear reader, never allow yourself to 
cherish the slightest enmity to divine truth, 
whether proclaimed from the pulpit, or dis- 
closed in the word of God. Never start 
back from its most powerful appeals to the 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 17 

understanding and the heart. It is spoken 
in love, with a pure regard to your eternal 
salvation. Receive it then in the spirit of 
kindness, however clearly it may point out 
your guilt and danger, or the duty of 
immediate and unconditional submission to 
God. Love and obey the truth with the 
temper of him who died to save you, and it 
will prove instrumental of your immortal 
felicity. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED BY CAVILLING AT 
DIVINE TRUTH. 

And when they opposed themselves and blasphemed, he 
shook his raiment, ana said unto them, your blood be upon 
your own heads ; I am clean. — Acts xviii; 6. 

To cavil with the word of God is to 
raise false or frivolous objections to its im- 
portant truths. This is often done from 
settled opposition to the distinguishing 
doctrines of revealed religion. Sometimes 
this course is taken to still the rebukes of 



18 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

an accusing conscience, or to shield the 
mind from religious impressions. At other 
times it is done from mere vanity to dis- 
cover the acuteness of one's penetration. 
But all such treatment of divine truth is 
exceedingly hazardous and sinful. Its ef- 
fect upon the mind is decidedly pernicious. 
It leads to open infidelity, and directly 
tends to grieve the Spirit of God. The 
Bible is a serious book. It was written for 
a sublime and holy end. It is the produc- 
tion of the Holy Spirit, and the grand 
means of human salvation. It will bear 
the most rigid inspection, and stand the 
scrutiny of the most powerful intellects. 
Such a book is dear to the heart of God, 
and bears the seal of his approbation. It 
should be treated with high veneration, 
studied with the utmost candor, and with a 
spirit of fervent prayer. Prayer melts and 
subdues the soul, and prepares it to receive 
the truth in love. Those, who cavil at the 
Bible, trifle with the Holy Spirit, who in- 
dited it. They impeach his veracity, and 
pour contempt upon the work of his hands. 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 19 

And will he not be grieved at such con- 
duct ? Will he find a habitation in bosoms 
where insult, and scoffing, and vanity, and 
conceit, and evil speaking meet in commu- 
nion to take counsel against the Lord of 
Hosts ? Will he not rather flee from such 
scenes of confusion and wanton hostility 
against the sublimest displays of infinite 
love ? If, dear reader, you have doubts or 
difficulties in relation to the word of God, 
treat them like one, who is accountable for 
all his conduct at the bar of eternal justice. 
If you wish to have your difficulties remo- 
ved, divest your mind of prejudice, and 
passion, and party feeling and self-conceit, 
and enter upon these sacred studies with a 
humble, teachable, prayerful spirit. Read 
the Bible through in course at least once a 
year. In no other way can its peculiar 
force, beauty and excellence be so impres- 
sively discovered. A minister once re- 
marked, " I have read the Bible through in 
course fourteen times in fourteen years, and 
should I live fourteen years longer, and be 
blessed with health, I intend to do it again." 



20 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

" A good man, just ready to leave the 
world, expressed a desire to live a few days 
longer, that he might finish reading his 
Bible through in course, the eighteenth 
time upon his knees." This is the way to 
understand the holy Scriptures. Be candid 
and patient in the investigation of divine 
truth, and ever remember, that as yet you 
are but a child in knowledge. When error 
is discovered in your preconceived opinions, 
reject it. When light beams in upon your 
darkness, admit it with joy, thank God and 
take courage. If difficulties still remain, 
pray over them. Lie low in the dust, and 
with a meek and gentle spirit, ask light 
from above. God will grant it; he has 
promised to do it. " Ask, and ye shall 
receive." With this temper in studying 
the Scriptures, seek simply to know the 
truth, and receive it whenever discovered, 
although it should sweep away the very 
fabric and ground of all your former belief. 
In this way, I have no doubt, you will soon 
be relieved from all your serious perplexi- 
ties, and settle down upon a firm, unshaken 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 21 

belief in all the fundamental truths of the 
gospel. But on no consideration cavil with 
the divine word, for to cavil is to trifle, and 
to trifle with the Spirit of God is a serious 
matter ; such conduct, if persisted in, will 
ruin the soul. 

Sir Francis Newport in his youth was 
the subject of religious impressions, and 
treated divine institutions with respect. As 
he advanced in life, he associated with in- 
fidels, who laughed at his serious regard for 
the sacred Scriptures. At first he with- 
stood their sneers, and defended manfully* 
the truths of revealed religion. At length, 
however, yielding to their persuasions, he 
began to cavil, and trifle with the word of 
God, and finally took the ground of open 
infidelity. He scoffed ; he sneered • the 
Holy Spirit was grieved, and left him, even 
in the present world, to feel the gnawings 
of the worm, that never dies. His death 
scene was most impressive and awful. At 
one time, he observed, " I have grieved his 
Holy Spirit so often, that he has justly 
withdrawn his influences from me, and left 
3 



22 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

me in the room thereof the spirit of im- 
penitence and reprobation. Oh, that I had 
never known what religion was; then I 
had never denied my Saviour, nor been so 
black an heir of perdition. " Looking to- 
wards the fire, he said, " Oh that I was to 
lie and broil upon that fire a thousand years 
to purchase the favor of God, and be re- 
conciled to him again. But it is a fruitless 
wish. Millions of millions of years will 
bring me no nearer the end of my torments 
than one poor hour. O Eternity! Eternity! 
Who can discover the abyss of eternity ? 
Who can paraphrase upon the words forever 
and ever. O ye rocks and mountains that 
ye would cover me and hide me from the 
wrath of an incensed God ! But I cannot 
flee from his presence ; what he hath begun, 
he will finish ; he will extend his wrath 
against me forever and ever! " Just before 
he died, he exclaimed in the agonies of 
despair, " Oh, the insufferable pangs of hell 
and damnation," and expired. 

In view, dear reader, of this awfully ad- 
monitory fact, let me entreat you never to 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 23 

cavil with the Bible, nor trifle with its sa- 
cred truths, nor associate with those who 
are in the habit of doing it. Such conduct 
will grieve the Spirit, and if he takes his 
final departure, you must inevitably sink 
down to the flames of despair, where tears, 
and sighs and lamentations are unavailing. 
O remember, that it is a fearful thing to 
fall unpardoned into the hands of the living 
God. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED BY ASCRIBING HIS 

GRACIOUS OPERATIONS TO THE INFLUENCE 

OF FANATICISM. 



Others mocking, said, these men are full of new wine. — Acts 
ii. 13. *' ' 

Fanaticism is religious phrensy, or an 
excitement disproportionate to its object. 
It may and often does exist, where no di- 
vine influence is enjoyed. It may exist 
also in some degree in conjunction with 
the special operations of the Holy Spirit, 



24 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

but is never their legitimate fruit. The 
Spirit of God is an infinitely wise and holy 
agent, and always operates upon the mind 
in perfect accordance with the best and 
noblest exercise of all its rational powers. 
He illuminates the understanding, awakens 
the conscience, subdues the heart, and calls 
into action an energetic, holy, governing 
principle. He stops men in the career of 
sin, and leads them to a total abandonment 
of all their unrighteous pursuits. He forms 
a new character, leads to a new and holy 
life, makes men like God in their moral 
feelings, and excites them to works of the 
most pure and expansive benevolence. In 
a word, the Holy Spirit inclines us to ab- 
hor iniquity, to abandon sin, and to love 
and serve God in the most vigorous and 
perfect exercise of all the moral powers. 
And is this fanaticism ? Is this an excite- 
ment disproportionate to the object? If so, 
heaven is full of fanaticism, and the sooner 
the universe of God is filled with it the 
better. Submission to the divine will and 
obedience to the divine commands are the 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 25 

reasonable duty of every sinner, and this is 
precisely what the Holy Spirit produces in 
regeneration. And shall such a work be 
called by opprobrious names ? Shall insult, 
and scorn and contempt be poured upon the 
sublimest product of infinite love ? And 
yet, how often is this done by impenitent 
sinners in revivals of religion, where 
changes decidedly for the better are 
wrought in the human character ; changes 
too the most important and durable, and 
which no power short of infinite ever has 
or ever will produce. And will not such 
conduct grieve the Spirit? Will he see his 
own work despised and vilified without 
expressing any tokens of disapprobation ? 
Will he pass unnoticed such flagrant in- 
sults, such wanton indignities ? O no ! 
" Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds 
of the earth, but wo unto him that striveth 
with his Maker." All, who treat the work 
of the Spirit in this manner, resist his gra- 
cious operations, and provoke him to give 
them over to a reprobate mind. 

11 A thoughtless youth, who had grieved 
3* 



26 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

the Spirit by trifling away his day of grace, 
exclaimed on his dying bed, in the horrors 
of despair, l Oh I am going, I am going to 
hell,' and shortly after expired without 
hope." 

At a time of great religious interest in a 
pleasant town in New England, three 
young men, who were exceedingly depra- 
ved, made sport of the work of God. On 
one occasion, when the Holy Ghost seemed 
to fill the place, where they were trifling, 
and numbers, burdened with sin, were 
anxious to know what they should do to 
be saved, an arrow from the Almighty, en- 
tering the heart of one of these young men, 
put an end to his mirth. His countenance 
immediately changed. A sense of his 
amazing guilt filled him with indescribable 
anguish. He broke away from his com- 
panions, and at the close of the meeting, 
retired to his habitation, not to trifle, but to 
cry for mercy. Sleep departed from him. 
Trembling and astonished he sighed and 
prayed and asked in bitterness of spirit, 
" What shall I do to be saved." The Ian- 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 27 

guage of his heart was, " O my sins, my 
sins! What shall I do? Can one so 
guilty as I am be pardoned?" Some hours 
after, he was enabled to cast his burdened 
soul upon the mercy of an infinite Saviour, 
and found peace in believing. The tem- 
pest was now past. He was reconciled to 
God. A heavenly serenity sat upon his 
countenance. All within was peace and 
love and joy unspeakable. His humility 
was deep. He became a devoted Christian, 
a man of prayer, and putting on the meek- 
ness and gentleness of Christ, adorned his 
profession of religion by a life of piety. 
His two companions, amidst the most glo- 
rious displays of divine grace, continued to 
trifle. They opposed the work of God ; 
they called it by opprobrious names, and 
reviled those, who embraced the offers of 
mercy. The Holy Spirit, insulted and 
grieved by their opposition to his work, 
departed from them, and now, apparently 
given over to blindness of mind, they are 
travelling down unpardoned to a world of 
despair. 



28 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

O, dear reader, be admonished by facts 
like these never to trifle with revivals of 
religion. You cannot do it with safety. 
The Holy Spirit, grieved by such conduct, 
may leave you to mourn at the last, when 
your flesh and your heart are consumed, 
and say, " How have I hated instruction, 
and my heart despised reproof. I am lost, 
lost forever. The harvest is past, the sum- 
mer is ended, and my soul is undone to all 
eternity." 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED BY EXCESSIVE 
WORLUL1NESS. 

The care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke 
the word ; and he becometh unfruitful.— Matt. xiii. 22. 

A pressure of worldly business has a 
powerful tendency to draw the mind away 
from God. This every one knows, who has 
been at all encumbered with the affairs of 
the present life. " They, that will be rich, 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 29 

fall into temptation and a snare, and into 
many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown 
men in destruction and perdition. " The 
design of the Holy Spirit in convincing us 
of sin is to lead us to a cheerful surrender 
of our hearts to Christ. This we should 
ever deeply feel, when favored with his gra- 
cious operations. If a sinner, blessed with 
special divine influence, contrary to the dic- 
tates of his conscience plunge too deeply 
into the business of the world, he will al- 
ways retard this gracious work, and it may 
be constrain the Spirit to leave him forever. 
For in such a case, he does violence to his 
own reason, and attempts to put out the 
light, which God is kindling up in his mind. 
With clearer views of sin, more affecting 
apprehensions of danger, more powerful im- 
pressions of duty, weightier motives pressing 
upon him to repent and live, the call of God 
waxing louder and louder, with light, and 
love and goodness acting with augmented 
power to open his heart, and turn his affec- 
tions from sin to holiness, he still pursues 
the perverse inclinations of a carnal mind, 



30 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

and envelopes his soul in the darkness of a 
prolonged and fearful night. Those, who 
pursue this course, resist the Spirit. They 
declare plainly, that they prefer darkness to 
light, gain to godliness, death to life, sin to 
holiness, earth to heaven, shadows to sub- 
stance, time to eternity, a momentary pos- 
session to an imperishable treasure, the grat- 
ification of a selfish spirit to the favor of the 
infinite God and a portion in his everlasting 
kingdom. Such conduct grieves the Spirit, 
for no worldly business whatever is worthy 
for a moment to be put in competition with 
the salvation of the soul. The Holy Spirit 
knows how to estimate eternal things, and 
he knows how the sinner should estimate 
them, when favored with his enlightening 
and saving power. A proper attention to 
the affairs of this life is lawful and right ; 
it is indeed what God requires, and will not 
interfere with our salvation. But an exces- 
sive attention to these things will interfere 
with our eternal interests, and may ruin the 
soul forever. Here then, dear reader, let 
me guard your mind. Never allow the af- 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 31 

fairs of this life to magnify beyond their 
proper dimensions ; on no consideration suf- 
fer them to withdraw your attention from a 
preparation for the overwhelming scenes of 
judgment and eternity. If you feel the 
gentle strivings of the Spirit, or his more 
powerful operations, never hush them by 
an excessive attention to the concerns of the 
present life. For what will it profit you to 
gain the world and lose your soul ? You 
may do an injury in a single hour, which 
eternity cannot repair. O, let not a little 
glittering dust outweigh the accumulating 
treasure of an eternal heaven ! 

In a busy village in New England there 
once lived a man, who in early life discov- 
ered a strong desire to amass property. He 
was favored with remarkable health, and 
pursued his occupation with uncommon 
diligence. Early and late he was hard at 
work, and laid up every dollar which he 
could spare, to supply as he supposed his 
future wants. His business prospered, his 
family increased, and as the world was his 
darling idol, he added house to house, and 



32 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

field to field. While he was thus engaged 
in his worldly concerns, God in great mercy 
poured out his Spirit in a remarkable man- 
ner upon that village, and multitudes, awak- 
ened to a sense of their condition as sinners, 
were pressing into his spiritual kingdom. 
Hundreds were seen in the inquiry meet- 
ing, and the attention of all in a greater or 
less degree was directed to the subject of 
religion. While the young and the old, the 
rich and the poor, men of business and in- 
fluence were earnestly seeking religion, the 
mind of this man was wrought upon by the 
Holy Ghost, and he also was found among 
the inquirers. The ministers of Christ and 
others conversed with him, and as numbers 
all around were embracing the Saviour, it 
was hoped that he also would renounce the 
world, and make choice of Jesus as his un- 
failing portion. This hope was not real- 
ized. Others found their way to the cross, 
but he lingered. The world was in his 
heart, and although the cord which bound 
him to his treasures was somewhat weak- 
ened, it was not entirely cut asunder. Af- 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 33 

ter some months great accessions were made 
to the churches, but this man was not among 
them. His love of gain returned, and 
though standing upon the threshold of the 
kingdom amidst such delightful solemnities, 
he plunged again into the world, and 
quenched the kindlings of the heavenly 
visiter. The Holy Ghost now withdrew 
his influence, and left him to pursue unre- 
strained his chosen way. His heart was 
hard, and his course downward, dark and 
dreadful. The very atmosphere around 
him was polluted with his shocking profan- 
ity. A sullen gloom preyed upon his spirit ; 
the world lost its charms ; gold and silver, 
houses and lands could not satisfy. Tired 
of earth, and stung with despair, he put an 
end to his earthly existence, and with the 
guilt of murder upon his soul, rushed into 
the presence of his final Judge. " The way 
of the transgressor is hard." " Love not 
the world." " Grieve not the Holy Spirit 
of God." "Turn ye from your evil ways, 
for why will ye die?" " Believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." 
4 



34 



THE HOLT SPIRIT RESISTED. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED BY THE USE OF 
INTOXICATING LIQUORS AS COMMON DRINKS. 

Wo to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim. — 
Is. xxviii. 1. 

Look not thou upon the wine, when it is red, when it giveth 
his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it 
biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. — Prov. xxiii. 
31, 52. 

Touch not, taste not, handle not. — Col. ii. 21. 

It has now become a well known and a 
well established truth that the use of intox- 
icating liquors as common drinks is injuri- 
ous both to the body and mind. They un- 
dermine the constitution, enfeeble the health, 
sear the conscience, derange the judgment, 
harden the heart, render the mind less sus- 
ceptible of religious impressions from the 
exhibition of divine truth, and if not reject- 
ed, will hasten the body to a premature 
grave, and the deathless soul to a world of 
despair. And can the use of drinks, which 
produce such results, be innocent ? O no ! 
It is most clearly a sin to use ardent spirit, 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 35 

when in health, as a common beverage, and 
a sin heinous in the sight of God in propor- 
tion to the clearness of the light, which has 
been thrown upon this subject. But sin of 
all descriptions, while indulged and cher- 
ished, grieves the Holy Ghost, and counter- 
acts his benevolent design. The sinner, 
who drinks ardent spirit daily, amidst that 
flood of light, which is now poured down 
upon him, cannot expect, and will not enjoy 
the convicting and converting power of the 
Holy Comforter ; for he does deliberately 
what he knows, or may know to be wrong 
and exceedingly offensive in the sight of 
God. The same remarks may be applied 
to the daily use of wine, cider, strong beer 
and the like, in proportion to their alcoholic 
properties. They are all unnecessary ; all 
hurtful, and the habitual use of them should 
be entirely and forever abandoned. An in- 
spired writer declares that "wine is a mock- 
er, and strong drink is raging," and rage 
and mockery, the legitimate effects of in- 
toxicating drinks, are completely at vari- 
ance with that divine and heavenly influ- 



36 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

ence employed in the work of the soul's 
conversion. 

In Is. xxviii. 7, we read, "But they also 
have erred through wine, and through 
strong drink are out of the way ; the priest 
and the prophet have erred through strong 
drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they 
are out of the way through strong drink ; 
they err in vision, they stumble in judg- 
ment." In this passage the effects of intoxi- 
cating drinks, as described by the Holy 
Ghost, are, wandering from the right way, 
error in vision, and stumbling in judgment; 
effects altogether diverse from those pro- 
duced in regeneration by the Spirit of God. 
The Holy Ghost leads back the wandering 
sinner to the path of holiness ; he removes 
that false medium, through which in a 
state of nature, he gets erroneous views of 
spiritual objects, and enables him to form a 
correct judgment of divine and eternal 
things. The influence of ardent spirit is 
impure, sensual, debasing, dragging the soul 
downward to death and to hell, while the 
influence of the divine Comforter is holy, 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 37 

spiritual, ennobling, elevating and lifting 
the soul upward to God and the Lamb. 

My whole experience in from fifteen to 
twenty revivals of religion, and a good pro- 
portion of them revivals of great power, 
perfectly corresponds with the views I have 
just expressed. I cannot recollect an indi- 
vidual for twenty years past, in the daily 
habit of drinking ardent spirit, who has be- 
come a subject of regenerating grace. Per- 
sons of this description generally feel little 
or no interest in regard to experimental re- 
ligion, and if awakened at all, unless they 
change their habits, soon grieve the Holy 
Spirit, and sink down into a state of greater 
stupidity and hardness of heart than before. 
There is and can be no sympathy, no har- 
mony at all between the effects of intoxi- 
cating liquors, when taken into the human 
system, and the operations of the Spirit of 
God. The use of them invariably, in pro- 
portion to the quantity taken, resists and 
grieves the Holy Ghost. A fact or two 
may serve to illustrate this truth. At a 
time of some religious interest, a man, in 
4* 



38 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

the habit of drinking ardent spirit, was 
brought to think seriously upon a prepara- 
tion for another world. His minister, who 
well knew his practice in this particular, 
warned him of his danger, and urged and 
entreated him to abandon at once and for- 
ever the use of intoxicating liquors. He 
replied in effect, that he apprehended no 
danger from this quarter ; that he did not 
calculate to drink much, and that a little 
could surely do him no harm. With these 
views he went on from day to day, but 
made no progress in his way to the cross. 
At length he began to feel less interest in 
respect to his soul's salvation. The Holy 
Spirit was evidently grieved, and soon after 
withdrew his influence, and left him still 
longer to pursue his own chosen and dread- 
ful way. Some years after, this same man 
was awakened again, and resolved in serious 
earnest to seek religion. He now gave up 
the use of intoxicating drinks, and attended 
diligently upon the means of grace. His 
religious impressions were deepened. The 
Holy Spirit broke down the opposition of 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 39 

his heart, and led him as a guilty suppliant 
to the feet of Jesus. He soon found peace 
in believing, came out decidedly upon the 
side of Christ, subscribed a temperance 
pledge, professed in due time his faith in 
Jesus, and is now hopefully travelling to the 
general assembly and church of the first 
born which are written in heaven. 

In another town where God was pouring 
out his Spirit, a man of great influence, 
who was in the daily habit of using ardent 
spirit was led to think seriously upon his 
eternal interests, and took his place among 
the inquirers. Although the scene was 
deeply affecting and numbers around him 
were submitting to Christ, he remained sta- 
tionary. It was evident that some obstruc- 
tion was in his way. Though not a drunk- 
ard he would still take his regular glass ; 
no persuasion could induce him to abstain 
from it. The consequence was, he lost his 
serious impressions. The Spirit of God, 
unwilling to perform a work of grace in his 
soul, while he persisted in this guilty prac- 
tice, and grieved again and again by his 



40 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

sensual indulgence, took, it is feared, his 
everlasting flight. Years have rolled away 
since that period, and the town has been re- 
peatedly visited with powerful revivals, but 
this man has not yet been numbered among 
the converts to righteousness. He still 
slumbers on in sin, though grey hairs and 
the infirmities of age admonish him that 
death is just at the door. No arguments 
drawn from the dying love of Jesus, the 
worth of the soul or the momentous scenes 
of an approaching eternity can effectually 
move his spirit, or break his repose. To 
all human appearance he will live and die 
as he is, in stupidity and unbelief, and final- 
ly experience the indignation and wrath, 
tribulation and anguish measured out to 
those who do despite to the Spirit of grace. 
And now, dear reader, if you have not 
yet done it, let me advise and entreat you 
as a friend, in view of these and a multi- 
tude of similar facts, to abstain entirely 
from the use, as a beverage, of intoxicating 
drinks. But do you ask, " may I not take 
occasionally a little wine ? " No, never, 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 



41 



except in case of sickness cr for sacramen- 
tal purposes. " But may I not drink fer- 
mented cider, strong beer and the like?" 
No, never, not even a glass of them in the 
possession of health, for the price of your 
soul. The use of them internally, in pro- 
portion to their alcoholic properties, stupi- 
fies the conscience, hardens the heart, and 
grieves the Holy Ghost, by whose agency 
you must be renewed and sanctified and 
fitted for the service of a holy heaven. 
Will you deliberately sell your deathless 
soul for the momentary gratification of a 
sensual appetite? Will you grieve the 
Spirit of God by doing that which expe- 
rience and facts corresponding with divine 
testimony prove to be wrong ? Will you 
barter away a crown of life, a far more ex- 
ceeding and eternal weight of glory at 
God's right hand by the use of that, whose 
tendency is to destroy both soul and body 
in hell forever ? O no, it cannot, must not 
be. " Do not," saith Jehovah, " that 
abominable thing which I hate." If, how- 
ever, advice will not answer, let me de- 



42 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

scend to entreaty, and beseech you by the 
worth of the soul, by the tears and agonies, 
the blood and death of an atoning Saviour, 
by all that is precious in time, and all that 
is joyous or painful in avast eternity, touch 
not, taste not, handle not the accursed thing. 
But I must not close this chapter, with- 
out inquiring, do you sell intoxicating li- 
quors to be used as a common beverage ? 
and if so, can this be right ? Is it an hon- 
orable employment ? Is it a business in the 
pursuit of which you can reasonably expect 
to enjoy the converting operations of the 
divine Spirit and the gracious smiles of the 
God of love ? To ascertain this point 
clearly just compare your work and its 
effects with the work of the Holy Spirit. 
Yours is to curse mankind, and his to bless 
them ; yours to kill and his to make alive ; 
yours to produce anger, and wrath, and 
clamor, and evil speaking and every wicked 
work, and his to promote peace on earth 
and good will to men ; yours to scatter fire- 
brands, arrows and death on every side, and 
change whole communities into a scene of 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 43 

frightful desolation, mourning and wo, his 
to diffuse abroad peace and love and joy, 
and make this vale of tears appear like a 
field, which the Lord has blessed. The 
effect of your business is to break up the 
peace of families, to alienate husband and 
wife, to multiply the forms of crime and 
wretchedness on every side, to fill our jails 
with prisoners, our almshouses with pau- 
pers, our country with widows, our asylums 
with orphans, our graveyards with prema- 
ture mortality, our land with weeping, and 
the world of wo with the victims of des- 
pair ; while the tendency of the divine 
Spirit's work is to perpetuate peace in 
families, to strengthen and render more 
delightful the conjugal relation, to diminish 
the forms of crime and misery on every 
side, to make the guilty holy and the 
wretched happy, to dry up the widow's 
tears, and cause the orphan's heart to sing 
for joy, to make the poor rich in faith, and 
heirs of God's everlasting kingdom, to bind 
up the broken heart, to proclaim liberty to 
the captives, and the opening of the prison 



44 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

to them that are bound ; and finally to re- 
generate the world, and fill heaven with 
holy, glorified spirits and endless praise. 

From the contrast, you clearly perceive 
that your employment and its tendency are 
altogether diverse from the work of the 
Holy Spirit in the human heart. And can 
you suppose for a moment, that God will 
work in you both to will and to do of his 
good pleasure, while you deliberately pur- 
sue this guilty traffic ? O no ! Such a 
supposition is utterly vain. God's work is 
holy and yours sinful. This guilty busi- 
ness must be relinquished, before you will 
know by experience, that the Lord is gra- 
cious. A single fact will illustrate this 
point. In a revival of great interest and 
power in a commercial town, a merchant, 
doing large business, was seen regularly in 
the inquiry meeting, and appeared to be 
deeply concerned to know, what he should 
do to be saved. The ministers of Christ 
conversed with him kindly, and directed 
him to the Lamb of God for pardon. Week 
after week rolled away, but he found no 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 45 

peace in believing. One evening a minister 
from abroad, who had come in to assist in 
this laborious work, and had frequently 
conversed with this merchant, wishing if 
possible to detect the lurking sin, which 
prevented him from embracing the Saviour, 
held with him, in substance, the following 
conversation. " What, sir, is your employ- 
ment ? " "I am a merchant." " What 
do you sell?" " Groceries, sir." "Do 
you sell ardent spirit ? " " I do." " What 
quantity have you now in your store ? " 
"Twenty hogsheads." "And can you 
expect to be pardoned, while thus sinning 
against God ? " " Do you think it sinful, 
sir, to sell ardent spirit?" "Indeed I do, 
for human consumption; it is not only sin- 
ful, but monstrous. You must relinquish 
this guilty business, or lie down unpardoned 
in endless sorrow." The merchant looked 
sad, and went home in distress. It was 
indeed a trying moment. He reflected, he 
prayed, and then concluded that his soul 
was infinitely more valuable than gold that 
perisheth. In view of his final account at 
5 



46 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

the bar of God, he decided manfully to re- 
linquish that part of his business, and deal 
no more in the blood of souls. He soon 
cleared his store of the dreadful poison, 
sacrificed a large sum of money, shortly 
after experienced a hope in Christ, came 
into the visible church in due time, and 
went on his way rejoicing. O, dear reader, 
be wise now for eternity. Stop while you 
may, turn while you can. Repent and re- 
nounce this work of death while God is 
upon a throne of mercy. He cannot, he 
will not pardon, while you continue in sin. 
Quench not the Spirit by a moment's delay. 
Who can dwell with devouring fire? Who 
can dwell with everlasting burnings ? Sell 
not your precious soul for worldly gain, for 
a mere pittance, which will prove only a 
curse in this life, and yield a sure harvest 
of anguish untold, unmitigated and unex- 
tinguishable in the dark regions of despair. 
Soon you must die and stand before God, 
and answer at his dreadful bar for the deeds 
done here in the body. How awful the 
scene ! Are you prepared to meet it ? Bear 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 47 

with me, while I expostulate, and ask, 
Why will you die ? 

" Hasten, sinner, to be blest, 

And stay not for the morrow's sun, 

For fear the curse should thee arrest, 

Before the needful work is done." 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED BY VAIN AMUSE- 
MENTS AND WORLDLY PLEASURE. 

Heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of 
God. From such turn away.- — 2 Tim. iii. 4 ; 5. 

Vain amusements dissipate the mind, 
and counteract serious impressions. The 
indulgence of sinful pleasure begets a dis- 
taste for the refined enjoyments of pious 
contemplation. The unconverted often 
associate with humble piety all that is for- 
bidding and gloomy and morose in the 
human character. They appear to think 
that religion would dry up all their springs 
of earthly enjoyment. Influenced by these 
mistaken views, they brace themselves 



48 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

against the truth, and amuse their minds 
with mere trifles to ward off the convictions 
of the Holy Ghost. It however some- 
times occurs that such persons are awaken- 
ed to reflection, and led to contemplate 
seriously the realities of a future life. 
Their sins oppress them. The gay scenes 
of this world die away from their vision, 
and eternity rolls up before them with an 
overwhelming grandeur. They are un- 
happy and disconsolate ; all in time is 
cheerless ; all beyond seems dark and 
dreadful ; they sigh for comfort, but find it 
not. Restless and forlorn, they resolve to 
shake off these uncomfortable impressions ; 
the process is easy ; the means at hand. 
The stream of worldly pleasure rolls at 
their feet, inviting them by a thousand 
charms to embark upon its deceitful waters. 
Wearied with mental tossing, they launch 
away to seek repose upon its descending 
tide. Their minds are now diverted, the 
Spirit grieved, anxiety gone, all is gay and 
cheerful, until their frail bark begins to 
tremble upon the bosom of a mightier tide. 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 49 

An ocean opens, its billows roll, they awake 
in consternation, but all is lost. Driven 
upon its angry waves they are dashed, and 
sink forever in the fathomless abyss. This 
is the fate of multitudes, who stifle con- 
viction by intoxicating pleasure, and grieve 
the Spirit of God with vain amusements. 

It is said that a young nobleman in 
England was once so deeply impressed 
with a sense of eternal things, that he knelt 
down to pray. Just at this moment it 
occurred to him, that some one might see 
him through the key hole in the attitude of 
devotion. He rose from his knees, and 
having secured this opening, it occurred to 
him that he would drop his window cur- 
tains. While doing this, some charming 
music in the street caught his attention. 
He listened, his thoughts were diverted 
from the object of prayer. When the 
music ceased, his serious impressions were 
gone ; he had no inclination to pray. 
The Holy Spirit, slighted and grieved, had 
departed from him, and so far from being 
disposed to offer supplications, he rushed 
5* 



50 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

from his closet into the theatre to enjoy 
those sinful pleasures, which plunge the 
soul prematurely into the fire that never 
shall be quenched. Oh, it is dangerous to 
trifle with the friendly visits of this divine 
Comforter. Should he take his final de- 
parture, the soul is destined to a world of 
endless mourning. Here then let us pause, 
and ponder well our course, for it is a truth 
as capable of demonstration as any one in 
moral science, that all foolish talking and 
jesting, and sportive entertainments, and 
thoughtless merriment, and impious trifling 
and the Avhole round of giddy pleasures in- 
consistent with the devout spirit of the 
gospel, grieve the Holy Ghost, and if not 
relinquished, will seal our final doom. If, 
dear reader, you ever intend to enter heav- 
en, grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, 
whereby you must be sealed unto the day 
of redemption. Engage in no conversation, 
mingle with no company, and pursue no 
course of conduct, upon which you cannot 
heartily and devoutly ask the divine bles- 
sing. Shun balls and idle sports, and par- 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 51 

ties of sinful pleasure, as you would the 
fearful gateway to despair. Amusements 
of this description grieve the Spirit of God. 
They harden the heart, and if not relin- 
quished, will ruin the soul forever. " If I 
can persuade her to go to the ball," said a 
young man, " T will risk her getting reli- 
gion." The lovers of pleasure know well 
how to grieve the Spirit of God, and drive 
away serious impressions, and they lay their 
plans accordingly. The idle sports of one 
short evening, yea, of a single hour, may 
seal your final doom, and be followed by a 
whole eternity of unavailing lamentation 
and wo. O trifle not with infinite love ! 
Prefer not the momentary enjoyment of 
sinful mirth to the endless pleasures at 
God's right hand. Sport not with ap- 
proaching judgment, and the overwhelm- 
ing scenes of immortality. Young Alta- 
mont, who was a lover of pleasure more 
than a lover of God, and had grieved away 
the Holy Ghost, exclaimed as he drew near 
eternity and the bar of his final judge, " O 
time, time ! it is fit that thou shouldst thus 



52 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

strike thy murderer to the heart! How- 
art thou fled forever ! A month ! Oh for 
a single week ! I ask not for years, though 
an age were too little for the much I have 
to do. Remorse for the past throws my 
thoughts on the future. Worse dread of 
the future strikes them back on the past. 
I turn and turn, and find no ray, and is 
there another hell? O thou blasphemed, 
indulgent Lord God ! Hell itself will be a 
refuge, if it hides me from thy frown." 
" Another, who in early life broke away 
from parental restraints, and plunged into a 
vortex of sinful pleasure, as he felt the 
resistless hand of death fastened upon him 
became awfully alarmed ; he seemed actu- 
ally frantic ; the very bed shook under him 
as if with supernatural strength he tried to 
raise himself up, and shrieked out for some 
moments, " O Lord Jesus have mercy on 
me! God of my father, have mercy on 
me ! Oh Christ have mercy on me ! Oh 
curses, curses on those who enticed me 
from my father's God into their infidel 
ways ! O mercy, mercy, Lord, on me, a 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 53 

poor miserable outcast ! " Thus he con- 
tinued wailing, sometimes crying for mer- 
cy, frequently uttering imprecations, until 
his strength was utterly exhausted, and his 
spirit, with an agonizing struggle took its 
everlasting flight. 

"A death bed's a detecter of the heart; 
Men may live fools, but fools they cannot die." 

And now, dear reader, in view of such 
examples, speaking with fearful solemnity 
from the threshold of the coming world, will 
you pursue the giddy paths of sinful pleas- 
ure, and enter the valley of the shadow of 
death, without one glimmering star of hope 
to cheer you amidst the gathering darkness 
of the tomb ? Will you drink the full cup 
of sensual delight in this moment of pro- 
bation, and be compelled in exchange for it 
to drink to all eternity the wine of the 
wrath of God, which is poured out without 
mixture into the cup of his indignation ? 

" Stop, poor sinner, stop and think, 
Before you farther goj 
Will you sport upon the brink 
Of everlasting wo? " 



54 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

Before you resolve upon such a course, 
listen attentively to the declaration of Je- 
hovah. " Rejoice, O young man, in thy 
youth ; and let thy heart cheer thee in the 
days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of 
thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes : 
but know thou, that for all these things, 
God will bring thee into judgment." O yes 
he will assuredly bring thee into judgment, 
and that you may now realize the solemni- 
ty of this event, and prepare for it, just fol- 
low the impenitent sinner to the bar of 
God, into the presence of him, before whom 
the heavens and the earth flee away, whose 
eyes like a flame of fire, with the concen- 
trated power of a thousand sunbeams, will 
pierce him through and through, and by 
whose lips will be pronounced, like the 
noise of many waters, and the voice of 
mighty thunderings, that awful sentence, 
" Depart from me ye cursed into everlast- 
ing fire, prepared for the devil and his 
angels." O remember that this fearful sen- 
tence, once pronounced by Jehovah, is pro- 
nounced forever! The principalities of 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 55 

heaven, earth and hell cannot revoke it. 
" For he is of one mind, and who can turn 
him ? " Heaven and earth shall pass away 
but his word shall not pass away. O that 
final, fearful sentence, " depart from me/' 
when pronounced by the great judge of 
quick and dead, will fill the guilty con* 
demned sinner with unutterable consterna- 
tion ! His day of grace is passed. His 
sun has set in everlasting night. His doom 
is sealed, irrevocably, eternally sealed. 
The light of hope is extinguished forever; 
The waves of divine indignation have com- 
menced their ceaseless rolling. His home 
is eternal, his companions eternal, his pains 
eternal. Final despair, with all its unmiti- 
gated, unextinguishable aggravations will 
brood over his spirit, and cover futurity 
with impervious gloom. Through eternity, 
ever wasting, never ending, he must live to 
acknowledge how fearful it is to grieve the 
Holy Ghost, and fall unpardoned into the 
hands of the living God, who will render 
to every man according to his works, and 
will by no means clear the guilty. 



56 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

Turn now from the death scene of those 
who have grieved the Spirit of God, by- 
indulging in sinful pleasure, to that of Dr. 
Payson, who received the Holy Ghost, and 
in his dying hours appeared to be filled 
with his heavenly influence. " I am going 
to Mount Zion," said that great and good 
man, in an ecstacy of joy, " I am going to 
Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, 
the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable 
company of angels, to the general assem- 
bly and church of the first-born, and to 
God, the judge of all. The celestial city 
is full in my view. Its glories beam upon 
me, its breezes fan me, its odors are wafted 
to me, its sounds strike upon my ear, and 
its spirit is breathed into my heart. Noth- 
ing separates me from it, but the river of 
death, which now appears as an insignifi- 
cant rill, that may be crossed at a single 
step, whenever God shall give permission. 
The Sun of righteousness has been gradu- 
ally drawing nearer and nearer, appearing 
larger and brighter as he approached, and 
now he fills the whole hemisphere) pouring 



tHE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 57 

forth a flood of glory in which I seem to 
float like an insect in the beams of the sun 5 
exulting, yet almost trembling while I gaze 
on this excessive brightness, and wondering 
with unutterable wonder, why God should 
deign thus to shine upon a sinful worm. 
A single heart and a single tongue seem 
altogether inadequate to my wants. I want 
a whole heart for every separate emotion, 
and a whole tongue to express that emo- 
tion." Again, "I can find no words to 
express my happiness. I seem to be swim- 
ming in a river of pleasure, which is carry- 
ing me on to the great fountain. Last 
night I had a full, clear view of death, as 
the king of terrors ; how he comes and 
crowds the poor sinner to the very verge 
of the precipice of destruction, and then 
pushes him down headlong. But I felt 
that I had nothing to do with this, and I 
love to sit like an infant at the feet of 
Christ, who saved me from this fate. I 
felt that death was disarmed of all his ter- 
rors ; all that he could do was to touch me, 
and let my soul loose to go to my Saviour. 
6 



§8 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED* 

My soul, instead of growing weaker and 
more languishing as my body does, seems 
to be endued with an angel's energies, and 
to be ready to break from the body, and to 
join with those around the throne." 

Such triumphs and joys, such delightful 
anticipations of future blessedness are the 
fruits of the Spirit, and they are never en* 
joyed by those who resist his influence. 
As you clearly perceive a striking contrast 
between these two characters, your sober 
judgment will not leave you in doubt for a 
moment which to prefer. O be wise to 
refuse the evil, and to choose the good* 
Receive and cherish the Spirit's influence, 
and through his abounding grace you will 
be able to triumph amidst the conflicts of 
dissolving nature, and shall shine at last as 
the brightness of the firmament, and as the 
stars forever and ever. 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 59 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED BY CONCEALING 
CONVICTION. 

My Spirit shall not always strive with man.— -Gen. vi. 3. 

Conviction of sin is the work of the 
Spirit, and a disposition to conceal it is 
opposed to the very genius of the gospel. 
Pride is at the bottom of all such feelings, 
and pride is detestable in the sight of God. 
" Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of 
me and of my words," says our Saviour, 
"of him also shall the Son of man be 
ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of 
his father with the holy angels." Many 
have checked the operations of the Spirit, 
and lost them entirely, by concealing their 
convictions. Sinners will sometimes hide 
the conflict in their own bosoms, until 
nature herself, sighing beneath the load, 
tells to demonstration, that trouble is there. 

A young man, awakened by the Spirit 



60 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

in a revival of religion, after a night of 
anxiety and weeping in view of his perish- 
ing condition, in the morning carefully 
wiped from his face all traces of his tears, 
and assumed an air of lightness, lest the 
family should suspect that he was about to 
forsake the world, and choose the Saviour 
as his everlasting portion. Such conduct 
is a stern resistance of the divine Spirit, 
and exceedingly offensive to the eyes of 
infinite purity. It is a tacit acknowledg- 
ment on the part of awakened sinners, that 
they esteem the world above Christ, that 
they fear man more than God. Religion 
can never be enjoyed in this way ; it seeks 
no concealment, it fears no inspection. If, 
dear reader, you intend to secure the favor 
of God, be open, and bold and decided upon 
this subject. Tell the world modestly, but 
with decision and firmness, that you are 
determined to become a follower of Jesus. 
The more decided you are, the sooner your 
convictions will be brought to a happy 
crisis. Disclose your feelings freely to 
your pastor, and ask his prayers and the 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 61 

prayers of such Christians as can wrestle at 
the throne of mercy. There is in such a 
course, *a magnanimity becoming an immor- 
tal being. It will deepen your convictions. 
It will be like signing an obligation in the 
face of many witnesses, that religion is to 
be your first, your great concern. Going 
back will be out of the question. A host 
of powerful motives will be urging you 
forward to an unconditional surrender to 
the Saviour. The prayers of the people of 
God will be awakened in your behalf, and 
your case will be carried to the throne of 
grace with much greater fervor and impor- 
tunity. In every possible way then invite 
the influence of the divine Spirit, cherish 
his gracious operations, yield yourself to his 
holy guidance, and he will lead you to the 
Lamb of God, to the blood of sprinkling, 
which taketh away the sin of the world. 

An amiable youth was once awakened 
to the subject of religion. He wanted in- 
struction, but the pride of his heart pre- 
vented him from disclosing his feelings, and 

6 * 



62 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

the Spirit left him. Again and again did 
the Holy Ghost set before him his duty 
and destiny. He sighed, he prayed, but 
keeping the conflict in his own bosom, he 
quenched the heavenly influence. In this 
way for six long years he resisted the Spirit 
of God. At length this divine agent, so 
often slighted and abused, returned again, 
and as the young man verily believed, for 
the last time. His sins were set in order 
before him. He felt justly condemned. 
He knew that he had done wrong by re- 
sisting the Spirit. The conflict was long 
and severe. Submission or eternal death 
appeared to be the only alternative. Borne 
down with a sense of sin almost to despair, 
he resolved to disclose his feelings. He 
did so ; he went to his minister, and made 
known to him his troubles. At once the 
mountains vanished ; the fear of man dis- 
appeared. He soon bowed sweetly at the 
feet of Jesus, and received him joyfully as 
his Lord and his God. Urged forward by 
his love for souls, he finally entered the 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 63 

ministry and has preached for years the 
unsearchable riches of Christ. 

" Stay, thou insulted Spirit, stay, 

Though I have done thee such despite, 
Cast not the sinner quite away, 
Nor take thine everlasting flight." 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE HOLY SPHUT RESISTED BY DEFERRING 
REPENTANCE. 

And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judg- 
ment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for 
this time ; when I have a convenient season 1 will call for thee. 
— Acts xxiv. 25. 

The worth of the soul far exceeds all 
human computation. Its endless being, its 
capacious and noble powers, capable of such 
immense enjoyment or suffering, give it a 
value, which none but the infinite God can 
fully estimate. The salvation of this un- 
dying soul has engaged the mighty energies 
of the Holy Spirit. For this benevolent 
purpose he breaks in upon the slumbers of 
men, and wakes them up to feeling and to 



64 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

effort. Excited by his divine impulse, they 
begin to read, and meditate, and pray, and 
ask the way to Zion, and seem resolved to 
enter upon the right way. Many of this 
description, however, endure only for a 
time ; for when the cares of the world, the 
deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other 
things crowd in upon the mind, their at- 
tention is diverted from the amazing inte- 
rests of the soul. Difficulties arise, the 
way looks dark, their resolution fails, and 
like the man who set out to build a tower 
without counting the cost, they become 
discouraged, before the foundation is fairly 
laid. They appear to think that they have 
done all in their power for salvation, before 
in fact they have done anything at all. A 
few prayers, and tears and heartless efforts 
are the consummation of their struggle for 
the kingdom of God. They hastily con- 
clude, that at some other time the work 
can be performed with greater ease. With 
these impressions they relax their efforts, 
and return back again to a state of stupidity. 
This course is pursued by thousands to 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 65 

their everlasting sorrow. God calls, but 
they refuse ; he entreats, but they heed it 
not. They deliberately close their ears to 
all the warnings and invitations of the gos- 
pel. Its language is, " repent and be con- 
verted," " awake to righteousness and sin 
not," " work out your own salvation with 
fear and trembling," " give diligence to 
make your calling and election sure," but 
such directions are not congenial with a 
proud and worldly spirit. They refuse to 
labor, and pray, and strive for salvation in 
obedience to the commands of God. They 
break away from the very grasp of the 
Spirit, and assume an attitude of resistance 
more repulsive and determined than before. 
And will not such conduct grieve the Holy 
Comforter ? Will his patience endure for- 
ever, his long-suffering never fail? Will 
he come again and again to the barren fig 
tree, and finding no fruit on it, will he 
never cut it down ? O no ! He works by 
means ; he draws by motives ; he operates 
upon the sinner's heart to make it fruitful 
in deeds of righteousness. If these kind 



66 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

monitions are disregarded, and the trifles of 
an hour allowed to outweigh the undying 
pleasures of a peaceful immortality, the 
Holy Spirit is grieved, and may take his 
final departure from those, who thus slight 
and abuse his benevolent work. Felix 
grieved the Spirit by deferring repentance 
to a more convenient season, and in all pro- 
bability lost his soul. 

" Procrastination is the thief of time ; 
Year after year it steals till all are fled, 
And to the mercies of a moment leaves 
The vast concerns of an eternal scene." 

" A man nearly eighty years old on his 
dying bed made to his children the follow- 
ing disclosure. When just entering my 
sixteenth year, religious impressions were 
made on my mind with unusual force. I 
seemed to hear a voice continually saying 
to me, Seek religion now. My former 
amusements lost their relish ; still I was not 
willing to renounce them wholly, and obey 
the voice, which urged me to seek religion 
immediately. One day after much reflec- 
tion, I deliberately promised to God, that 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 67 

as soon as the season of youthful amuse- 
ments was past, I would devote myself to 
religious pursuits. My anxieties immedi- 
ately left me ; I returned to my amusements, 
and the whole subject was soon forgotten* 
When at twenty-five the monitory voice 
returned, reminded me of my promise, and 
again pressed upon me the importance of 
eternal things. Though I had not thought 
of my promise for years, I acknowledged 
its obligation, but an immediate fulfilment 
seemed more impracticable, than it did nine 
years before. I vowed with increasing 
solemnity that when the cares of a rising 
family should subsidq, 1 would certainly 
attend to the concerns of religion. Again I 
applied myself to worldly avocations, and 
soon buried all thoughts of the admonition 
I had received. At fifty, when the cares of 
my family were diminished, the heavenly 
monitor returned. Fulfil your promise, 
seek religion now, was continually pressing 
my mind. The subject made me unhappy, 
but after much deliberation I sought relief 
to my troubled feelings by solemnly re- 



68 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED* 

newing my promise to God. I said, when 
the pressure of my business is past, I will 
devote my whole attention to a preparation 
for eternity. No sooner had I fixed my 
mind on this course^ than my anxieties left 
me ; the strivings of the Spirit ceased in 
my bosom, and ceased forever. When 
sickness warned me of approaching death, 
I sought to fix my feelings on this subject^ 
but it was in vain. I felt that I was for- 
saken of God, but it did not move me. I 
had no love to God, no repentance for sin, 
nor wish to forsake it. I felt nothing but 
the sullen gloom of despair. I knew, I was 
in the hands of a justly offended God, from 
whom I expected no mercy, and could ask 
none. With these feelings I am now about 
to enter the eternal world. To you, my 
children, I can only say, profit by my ex- 
ample — quench not the Spirit — seek reli- 
gion now — if you would avoid a miserable 
eternity put not off the concerns of your 
soul. The sentence died upon his lips — 
he fell back upon his bed, and with a groan 
that seemed to speak the pains of another 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 69 

world, his immortal spirit took its flight to 
the presence of his final judge, to receive at 
his hand according to the deeds done in the 
body." 

O, dear reader, be wise. " Be wise to-* 
day, 'tis madness to defer." Remember 
that to prefer deliberately a future time to 
the present for the great business of life is 
an insult offered to the Spirit, attended with 
unspeakable hazard to the soul. It is to 
prefer your wisdom to his, and your own 
supposed convenience to the glory of his 
infinite grace in making you a monument 
of God's everlasting favor. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED BY YIELDING TO 
THE ENTICEMENTS OF UNGODLY ASSOCIATES 

My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. — Prov. i. 10. 
Quench not the Spirit.— 1 Thes. v. PJ. 

It is a melancholy fact that multitudes 
are alive to do evil, while to do good they 

7 



70 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

have no heart. A youth is awakened to 
the subject of religion. He attends dili- 
gently upon the means of grace, and seems 
resolved to secure salvation. The more he 
reads, and meditates, and prays, and seeks 
to know the truth, the more deeply his 
mind is impressed with the momentous 
realities of another world. He is brought 
to stand upon the very threshold of the 
kingdom, and seems just ready to enter it, 
but alas ! he is not yet out of danger. His 
former companions watch him with a 
wakeful solicitude, and spare no efforts to 
bring him back again to their deserted cir- 
cle. They attempt to soothe his fears, and 
swell his pride, and puff his vanity, and 
persuade him away from the faithful exhi- 
bitions of the gospel and the pious influence 
of praying friends. At first he hesitates, 
yields but little, and trembles for the result. 
The temptation is repeated. Again he 
yields with still less reluctance, and is 
gradually borne away amidst the scenes of 
thoughtless festivity. His attention is now 
diverted from personal religion. The Holy 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 71 

Spirit is grieved, his anxieties vanish, the 
world becomes his idol, he lives in stupidity, 
and dies without hope, as the bitter fruits 
of having grieved the Spirit of God by- 
yielding to the enticements of wicked asso- 
ciates. This is but an illustration of facts, 
which crowd upon the mind of almost 
every observing Christian. Elymas, the 
sorcerer, " full of all subtilty and mischief, 
a child of the devil and an enemy of all 
righteousness," endeavored to turn away 
the deputy from the faith, and multitudes 
from that day to the present have followed 
his example. Here then, dear reader, set 
up your Ebenezer, and inscribe upon it, 
" My purpose is fixed ; I am resolved to 
become a child of God." To all who 
would dissuade you from seeking first the 
kingdom of God and his righteousness, 
reply firmly, "Your counsel is not good, 
for how can I do this great evil and sin 
against God ? As for me I will serve the 
Lord." " If sinners entice thee, consent 
thou not." Grieve not the Holy Spirit of 
God by yielding to the persuasions of im- 



72 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

penitent companions. Hearken to no pro- 
posals, yield to no entreaties, submit to no 
persuasions to draw you away from the 
faithful exhibitions of the gospel. Dread 
the loss of divine influence more than you 
would the loss of property, influence, health, 
endeared associates, or even life itself. 
The Holy Ghost calls, entreats, persuades 
you to repent by motives the most weighty, 
the most powerful ever brought to act upon 
the human mind. If you turn away from 
these weighty motives by yielding to the 
enticements of dying men, you slight the 
offers of infinite grace, and treat the blessed 
Spirit with high disrespect. Such a course 
is extremely dangerous ; it has proved fatal 
to multitudes. 

" A young man in the academy at A., a 
few years ago, in a season of revival was 
visited by the Holy Spirit, and indulged a 
hope of pardon. He was a youth of fine 
talents and of wealth, the joy of his parents, 
who were opposers to religion. When he 
visited them, they ridiculed his seriousness, 
and he came back opposed to religious 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 73 

meetings and to all serious things. He was 
conversed with, and exhorted not to resist 
the Holy Ghost and harden his heart, lest 
he should lose his soul. All religious du- 
ties soon became irksome to him, and he 
left for another school, where such restraints 
were not imposed. It was not long before 
he and one of his gay companions hired a 
carriage with two horses, and a driver, and 
set out to attend a ball in a neighboring 
town. Having proceeded a short distance, 
his head was seen by his companion to 
drop. The latter called to the driver to 
stop. The unhappy youth in an imperious 
tone said to the driver, " Drive the horses 
to hell as quick as possible." He never 
spoke again, and in a few moments was in 
the presence of his final Judge ! " 

u Delay not, delay not, the Spirit of grace, 

Long grieved and resisted may take its sad flight, 
And leave thee in darkness to finish thy race, 
To sink in the vale of eternity's night." 



74 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED BY A REFUSAL ON 
THE PART OF AWAKENED SINNERS TO AT- 
TEND MEETINGS OF RELIGIOUS INQUIRY. 

Because I have called, and ye refused 5 I have stretched out 
my hand, and no man regarded 3 But ye have set at nought all 
my counsel, and would none of my reproof 5 I also will laugh 
at your calamity 5 I will mock when your fear cometh. — Prov. 
i. 24—26. 

Among the most important means of grace 
at the present day, are seasons for personal 
conversation upon the subject of religion. 
God has put upon them, in a peculiar man- 
ner, the seal of his approbation. They 
have often been the favored moments when 
the soul has decided for a glorious immor- 
tality. 

" Silence was there, and with itself each soul 
Solemn communion held ; the Holy Ghost 
Was there, and whispered to each sin-sick soul, 
This is the way ; why wilt thou strive with God ? 
Repent, repent ; now is the accepted time, 
The day in which salvation may be thine." 

In such a place, and at such a time, all is 
still, solemn, impressive. The world re- 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 75 

cedes, eternity opens, and every soul may 
commune with God, may bow to Christ. 
The Holy Ghost hovers around the scene, 
and makes it sacred with the manifestations 
of his grace and glory. The prayers, the 
addresses, the conversation, the stillness, 
the solemnity, all tend to point the sinner 
to the Lamb of God. There is perhaps no 
place on earth, more completely adapted to 
bring a convicted mind to an unconditional 
surrender to the Saviour. Peter, and the 
rest of the apostles, on the day of Pentecost, 
held an inquiry meeting of great interest, 
which three thousand attended, and all of 
them submitted to Christ on the spot, and 
became the hopeful subjects of regenerating 
grace. Paul and Silas held an inquiry 
meeting in the house of their prison, which 
the jailer and perhaps some of his family 
attended ; and he at least believed in Christ 
to the saving of his soul. Philip, the evan- 
gelist, held an inquiry meeting in the eu- 
nuch's chariot, at which time the sable 
Ethiopian by an act of faith received Jesus 
as his atoning Saviour, and went on his 



76 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

way rejoicing. At a crowded meeting for 
inquiry, in a pastor's house, the Holy Ghost 
filled the place, and while the impressions 
of all were deepened, one man arose, and 
exclaimed with emotion, " Oh, I have found, 
I have found my Saviour." He has held 
on his way, and now> venerable for age and 
for piety, is just ready to enter his everlast- 
ing home in the skies. At the examination 
of sixty individuals, who were admitted to 
the church at the same time, after a revival 
of great purity and power, it was found 
that, in nearly every case, attending the in- 
quiry meeting gave a turn to their feelings, 
which under God resulted in those religious 
hopes upon which they ventured to make 
a public profession of their faith in Jesus. 
And shall pride, or the fear of man, keep 
you away from such scenes of heavenly vi- 
sitation ? Will you refuse to go where God 
unveils his glory, where Christ displays his 
love, where the Spirit breathes upon the 
soul a vitality which can never be extin- 
guished ? This would stifle conviction, 
would grieve the Spirit, and might ruin the 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 77 

soul forever. A lady under conviction, in 
a revival of religion, was invited to take her 
place among the inquirers. She refused to 
do it, though her conscience at the time told 
her it was her duty. 1 saw her afterward, 
and she assured me, with sadness of heart, 
that at that time, and by that act, she 
grieved the Spirit, and feared that he had 
taken of her his final leave. 

During a powerful work of grace in A., 
many awakened sinners were seen in the 
inquiry room, asking the way to Zion. 
Two men, it is said, walking slowly up to 
the door, stopped, and, with an evident 
conflict within, seemed to deliberate. At 
length, one of them, crushing his pride, and 
rising above the fear of man, entered the 
room, and soon hopefully embraced the Sa- 
viour. The other lingered awhile, turned 
about, and walked slowly away. The Ho- 
ly Spirit, grieved by his resistance, with- 
drew his influence, and he returned back 
again to a state of stupidity. 

If at any time you have the least inclina- 
tion to ask the way to Zion, gratify it, che- 



78 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

rish it. Go to the Bible, to the mercy-seat, 
and to the place where others meet to ask 
the way, and disclose your feelings freely 
to those who are set to watch for souls, and 
are able to guide them in the way of life. 
If pride and the fear of man would keep 
you back, go the more on this account, and 
crush them both with a single blow. They 
must die, or you are ruined. Bid the world 
stay behind, while you make a covenant 
with the King of kings. Go with a broken 
heart, repenting of the past, seeking guid- 
ance for the future, and with a fixed deter- 
mination to yield yourself a willing sacrifice 
to God. When at the meeting, if not en- 
gaged in conversation, lift up your soul to 
God in silent, fervent prayer, for the sub- 
duing influence of his grace. Penetrated 
with a sense of sin, look up to Christ as 
your only refuge, and rest on him as the 
chief corner-stone of your salvation. Pur- 
suing this course, you may expect to find a 
pardoning God, a smiling Saviour, a quick- 
ening Spirit, a peaceful conscience, a hope 
full of immortality, and at last a crown of 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 79 

life, which fadeth not away. Quench not 
the Spirit, then, by refusing to do what 
conscience bids you, what the Bible ap- 
proves, and what the providence of God 
clearly points out to be your duty. If you 
are ashamed of Christ, he will be ashamed 
of you ; if you reject his offered grace here, 
he will cast you off in that final day, when 
he shall number up his jewels. 

" Hasten, O sinner, to be wise, 

And stay not for the morrow's sun ; 
The longer wisdom you despise, 
The harder is she to be won." 



CHAPTER XI. 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED BY AWAKENED 
SINNERS, WHEN THEY ARE CONVINCED THAT 
IMMEDIATE SUBMISSION TO GOD IS THEIR IN- 
DISPENSABLE DUTY ; BUT STILL NEGLECT TO 
DO IT. 



Yield yourselves unto God. — Rom. vi. 13. 

Immediate submission to God is the in- 
dispensable duty of every sinner, and no 



80 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED, 

one can offer any satisfactory reason, why 
he does not do it. It often occurs that 
awakened sinners manifest no intention to 
defer submission ; they seem to be aware, 
that delay is attended with infinite hazard, 
and sometimes express a willingness and 
even a strong desire to submit to Christ, 
but still the work is not done. Whether 
in such cases the particular obstruction can 
be discovered or not, sin is always the 
guilty cause, it is their own, and while 
they refuse to relinquish it, they grieve the 
Spirit of God. The Holy Ghost points out 
to them the way of life, but they refuse to 
walk in it ; this is resistance. He makes 
their duty clear as daylight, simple as the 
very elements of language, but they refuse 
to do it; this is resistance. He presents to 
their minds the most powerful motives as 
inducements to an immediate surrender of 
their hearts to God, but they refuse to yield 
to these motives ; this is resistance. Sin- 
ners often suppose, that they are entirely 
willing to submit to Christ, while at the 
same time they are withstanding the offers 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 81 

of his grace with a giant's energies. Con- 
science and the Spirit of God urge them 
mightily to give up the contest, and bow 
to Jesus; but their stubborn wills rebel. 
This is the grand cause of all that distress, 
and anguish, and depression of spirit, which 
sometimes weigh down the soul to the very- 
borders of despair. Let them cease from 
resisting, and all will be peace ; yield to 
Christ, and all will be quiet. Those who 
are convinced that this is their immediate 
duty, and still neglect to do it, grieve the 
Spirit of grace, and hazard their everlasting 
all. There should be no hesitating, no lin- 
gering in this grand concern. The mighty 
work should be done now, can be done now 
with divine assistance, and if neglected 
now, may not be done at all. To-morrow 
with you may be eternity ; before to-mor- 
row, divine forbearance may be exhausted, 
and the measure of iniquity full. 

A young lady was once awakened by the 

Holy Spirit, and brought to contemplate 

seriously her interests for eternity. She 

saw herself justly condemned as a trans- 

8 



82 THU HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED*. 

gressor of the divine law, and knew thai 
she ought to flee to Christ as her only re- 
fuge. Conscience, together with the word 
and Spirit of God, urged her to repent im- 
mediately, and submit cheerfully to the au- 
thority of Jesus. She was brought appa- 
rently to stand upon the very threshold of 
God's spiritual kingdom, and seemed just 
ready to enter. The Spirit called, and 
urged, and pressed upon her his claims ; 
but still the work was not done. At length 
the blessed Comforter was grieved, and 
withdrew his influence ; she went back to 
the world, became a thoughtless, trifling 
sinner, and could sport upon the very brink 
of eternal burnings. 

One day, while conversing with a family 
in the discharge of my parochial duties, a 
messenger entered the room in haste, and 
requested me to go to a neighboring house, 
to pray with a young woman who was ap- 
parently dying. I did so, and on entering 
the room witnessed a scene which, while 
reason remains, I can never forget, and 
which I have no power adequately to de- 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 83 

scribe. The young lady just mentioned 
was there, prostrated upon a bed of lan- 
guishment, and to all human appearance 
was soon to enter upon the retributions of 
another world. Her affrighted looks, her 
agitated frame, and piteous cries, " O, I 
cannot die, I cannot die," were enough to 
make us all feel how fearful it is for a sin- 
ner to fall unpardoned into the hands of the 
living God. I approached the bed, and at- 
tempted to point her to Jesus, the sinner's 
friend ; but to no purpose. A cloud cover- 
ed her mind, and an agony of distress filled 
her agitated bosom. The Spirit had de- 
parted ; an insulted Saviour kept at a dis- 
tance. She wanted to flee from death and 
an avenging Judge, but could do neither. 
O, to drink the wrath of God, to feel the 
gnawings of the worm that never dies, and 
to enter the fire that never shall go out, 
were overwhelming to her despairing soul. 
I prayed with her, but she found no peace ; 
and I was obliged to leave her, without ha- 
ving been able to dart one ray of light 



84 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

through that oppressive gloom which then 
hung so heavily upon the sinking spirit. 

O, dear reader, if you are yet impenitent, 
let me entreat you, by all that is precious 
in the love of Christ, by all that is cheering 
in the hopes of the gospel, by all that is 
comforting in the presence of Jesus at a dy- 
ing hour, by all that is glorious in heaven, 
and fearful in hell, not to grieve the Holy 
Spirit, whereby you are sealed to the day 
of redemption. But do you ask, " What 
shall I do?" Do? Submit to Christ. 
M But how shall I do it ?" Feel as Christ 
requires, and do as he says. Repent, be- 
lieve, love and obey God with all your 
heart. This is religion, practical religion. 



CHAPTER XII. 

CONCLUDING REMARKS. 

1. Those who resist the Holy Ghost, 
incur great guilt. Guilt is increased in pro- 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 85 

portion to light and privileges slighted and 
abused. A sinner awakened by the Holy 
Spirit has clearer views of himself, of sin, 
of God, of Christ, of duty, of revelation, and 
of all the fundamental truths of the gospel. 
He sees, he hears, he reads and reflects, 
with feelings and impressions altogether 
new. He is urged to immediate repentance, 
by weighty and imperative considerations, 
which he never felt before. The admoni- 
tions of conscience, the calls of the Spirit, 
the warnings of providence, the threatenings 
of revelation, the invitations of the gospel, 
the instructions of ministers, the entreaties 
of friends, the solemnities of death, the dis- 
closures of judgment, the retributions of 
eternity, — all, like a cloud of living witness- 
es, call upon him to repent and live, with a 
voice loud and impressive enough almost to 
make the dead awake, and to put speaking 
tongues and praying hearts into the very 
ashes of the tomb. And can this amount of 
evidence, this array of motives, this com- 
bined testimony of witnesses from heaven, 
earth, and hell, be rejected without enhanc- 
R* 



86 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

ing our guilt ? But what saith the Scrip- 
tures? "He that despised Moses' law, died 
without mercy under two or three witness- 
es : of how much sorer punishment, sup- 
pose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who 
hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and 
hath counted the blood of the covenant 
wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy 
thing, and hath done despite unto the Spi- 
rit of grace ?" Guilt, amazing guilt, is in- 
curred by resisting the Holy Ghost ; and 
yet, how often is it looked upon as a mere 
trifle ? how many have done it, and are 
still doing it. without any adequate concep- 
tion of the wrong done to their own souls, 
or the dishonor-reflected upon the God of 
truth! And why, impenitent reader, will 
you pursue a course so completely at vari- 
ance with reason and revelation, so utterly 
hostile to your present and future peace ? 
Why resist the Spirit of God, till divine 
forbearance is exhausted, and the measure 
of iniquity full ? 
2. Those who resist the Holy Spirit are 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 87 

in imminent peril. As in human affairs, so 
in religion : 

" There is a tide 
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune ; 
Omitted, all the voyage of life 
Is bound with shallows and with miseries." 

A man upon a wreck, driven by the an- 
gry waves, is in imminent peril ; but his 
case becomes hopeless indeed, when in this 
condition he rejects the kind hand which 
comes to his rescue. It is dangerous beyond 
expression for sinners to resist the Holy 
Ghost, that benevolent agent who comes in 
mercy to save them, condemned as they are 
by the divine law, and liable every moment 
to be dashed upon the billows of eternal 
death. No one knows but the present is 
his last call, and if this be misimproved, his 
sun of mercy may set, to rise no more for- 
ever. There is a time when God will hear, 
when the sinner may be reconciled to his 
heavenly king. " Come now, and let us 
reason together, saith the Lord ; though 
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as 
white as snow; though they be red like 



88 THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED. 

crimson, they shall be as wool." " Behold, 
now is the accepted time ; now, is the day 
of salvation." 

There is a time when God will not hear. 
" Ephraim is joined to his idols ; let him 
alone." " Though ye make many prayers, 
I will not hear." " Then shall they call 
upon me, but I will not answer." O, it is 
a fearful thing for poor, dependant, helpless 
sinners, to reject the offers of unmerited 
grace, and grieve the Spirit of God. By 
one fatal act, you may blot out the last star 
of hope, which now glimmers in your spir- 
itual horizon, and be left to grope your 
dreary way downward, unpardoned, to the 
regions of everlasting despair. " Be wise, 
now, and remember this, O ye that forget 
God, lest he tear you in pieces, and there be 
none to deliver." 

"Return, wanderer, return, 
Thy Saviour bids thy spirit live ; 
Go to his bleeding feet and learn 
How freely Jesus can forgive." 

And, now, dear reader, this solemn and 
momentous subject I must leave with you. 



THE HOLY SPIRIT RESISTED, 89 

To your care is committed a priceless soul. 
Its salvation is placed within your reach. 
The Holy Ghost is given, to subdue and 
control its capacious and growing powers, 
and fit them for the joys and glories of an 
eternal heaven. These joys, these endless 
glories, will be yours or not, as you receive 
or reject the blessed Spirit. May the consi- 
derations presented in this little book, be so 
impressed upon your mind by a God of love, 
that when your earthly house of this taber- 
nacle shall be dissolved, you may have a 
building of God, a house not made with 
hands, eternal in the heavens, and go to 
dwell forever with the Lord, 






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